In golf clubs, especially larger golf clubs with many members and several courses, the task of recording and keeping scores for the members including computing handicaps, scheduling tee times, recording fees for using the clubs facilities and so forth may require considerable effort in terms of manpower and is, when performed manually, prone to mistakes and human errors. Before playing, a golfer typically will schedule a tee time in advance to assure his position in a starting queue which is a list maintained manually by a pro-shop operator. Before play actually begins, the golfer(s) must remit any fees associated with use of course facilities. At this time the golfer is given a scorecard used to manually record his scores during actual play. Information unique to the golf course is pre-printed on the scorecard. This may include rules, etiquette, numerical data regarding the difficulty of the course and each individual hole, and a graphical map of the course depicting obstacles and hazards in a symbolic form.
Next, the golfer plays the round, recording his strokes as he completes each hole. The actual score he records is modified by an assigned handicap which is computed by the club and based on the golfer's previous scores.
Upon completion of the round, the golfer returns the completed scorecard to a pro shop with his name or ID code attached. The scorecards for all members of the club are retained for some fixed period of time unique to the club. At the end of this period, the scores for members and a handicap are statistically processed using one of several algorithms prevalent in the golfing industry. The algorithm is either performed by hand or the scores are manually transcribed into a computer system which implements the algorithm. The number of collected scores for a club can reach over 100,000 in a year. Manual processing is therefore tedious. The purpose of the processing is primarily to assign each golfer a handicap, which normalizes the abilities of golfers in competitive play and the differences in difficulty between various golf courses.
The club will usually post the results of the handicap process for the entire membership in printed form at some prominent location in the clubhouse. Additionally, each member is given a wallet sized card showing the results of the handicap process. This is shown as a voucher of the golfer's playing ability when he plays at a course other than his home course.
Before playing, golf players often call the club's pro shop to schedule a playing time for a preferred course. Such scheduling also requires manpower and is also prone to mistakes and human errors.
In the past, attempts have been made to facilitate the process of scoring various games by electronic means, and other aspects of the golf game. U.S. Pat. No. 4,266,214 shows an electronically operable game scoring apparatus. U.S. Pat. No. 4,480,310 shows an electronic system for golf course range-finding by means of a computer installed in a golf cart. U.S. Pat. No. 4,419,655 shows a golf course play indicator which includes pictorial graphics of a golf course, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,367,526 shows a golf calculator for computing scores.
None of the prior art, however, has solved the problem of providing an electronic scoring system that overcomes problems inherent in performing scoring and record keeping by manual means.